


The Signs of the Water

by muffincollection



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Curses, Discovery, Donghyuck too, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Suicidal Thoughts/Actions, Johnny is Captain, M/M, Past Child Abuse, Pirates, Princes, Taeyong has a small stutter, Taeyong is Hurt, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:48:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21836209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muffincollection/pseuds/muffincollection
Summary: Taeyong was a prince. At 13 he was locked away from the world and his beauty was seen as a curse amongst the village. Anyone who were to look into his eyes were to be given bad luck.But one fateful night after an attack on the village, pirate Captain Johnny takes Taeyong under his wing. Through the worst and best times, Taeyong discovers what it means to be brave.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee, Lee Taeyong/Suh Youngho | Johnny
Comments: 18
Kudos: 123





	1. The First Wave

**Author's Note:**

> TW // it’s heavily implied that the king and queen are neglectful to their children, and that taeyong is suffering from health issues due to his treatment. also, throughout the fic at some points (including this chapter) suicide is talked about and ONCE attempted near the middle of the fic when they discuss why mark took donghyuck with him. violence will be trigger warned along with all the other possible ones at the beginning of each chapter.
> 
> taeyong has a stutter under stressful because he isn’t used to speaking after so long, it developed over time. it’s not always present but is there at some points because he’s stressed on what to say.
> 
> please do not read if you think these themes may affect you. i want you to be safe, and i want you to be at your best. ❤️
> 
> NOTICE: these themes and people do not belong to me, i just used them for my writing and it in no way reflects on them in real life nor should it ever be taken as so. thank you for understanding.

Taeyong was thirteen when he felt the cold, calloused hands on his bare biceps for the first time. He was sent to the cellar, something about bad luck. He didn’t know truly what to expect, especially when adults mumble. 

Petrified, Taeyong had tugged on the bars of the cellar and begged them to let him out. Apparently, they lost the key. He’d be in there for a while. He tried to think positively, maybe it was better that he was locked away. Taeyong remembers sitting on the cold floor, his body couldn’t produce any more tears. 

Then the day came, he felt the same calloused hands on his arms drag him from the castle and throw him into the old palace. It was used back when his ancestors ruled, and was said to be haunted by their ghosts. Anyone to be near it was bound to have bad luck. 

To the entire village, Taeyong’s beauty wasn’t praised. It was seen as bad luck amongst anyone who saw him, as looking into his eyes brought bad luck. Apparently, a witch put a curse on the king and queens most beautiful child and that he was to bring bad luck for centuries unless contained. They said he was vile, and the only way it can be cured is through genuine love and curiosity in their souls for him. 

Taeyong was told he’d never be loved for this. 

Locked away from his own family, friends, anyone who could interact with him. Often he was forgotten and went days without food, so he became weak. Taeyong didn’t think he was beautiful. If he was beautiful everyone would love him, cherish him, and show him that they admire him and his beauty. He had none of that, and he was growing to be ugly. He was bone thin and his eyes were too dark, scars all over his body, he wasn’t that tall, and his face looked abnormal. Though the legend about him says his beauty is too powerful, Taeyong thinks it was just to get rid of him. 

There was something wrong with him, perhaps he was so ugly it brought shame to his family and they had to lock him away. 

This was a constant factor in his mind, constantly making him feel like he was nothing but dust. Even if his mother said she loved him, he could feel his body weakens with the lies. No one would ever love him. 

The king was an almighty man, he was the second heir to the throne after his family was murdered in the war. He met his mother on the streets and immediately demanded they’d be wed, despite her social class. They had his older sister, him, and then what now is his younger brother. 

Taeyong resented his siblings. They were beautiful, he watched from the window when they’d have picnics in the garden. He wished he could be there. 

His bedroom door opened and one of the royal guards approached him, making sure to avoid eye contact. 

“Here’s your dinner, sir,” He says. Taeyong hums. 

“Thanks, but don’t call me sir or anything, not like I’m royalty,” Taeyong only said that truth. If he was royalty he’d live in the palace with everyone else. 

“You’re still a child of the royal family,” He replies, “Whether you like it or not, in theory if your entire family dies or something you’re the heir to the throne.”

“Didn’t the King overrule that and have a few people in the serving class be trained for ruler?” Taeyong retaliates, “What is it with you and trying to make me feel better?”

“I just care about you,” The man says, he looks down, “As much as I can, anyway.”

Taeyong resists the urge to roll his eyes, “If you cared about me, I’d be rid of this curse.”

“You should trust me,” The guard says, “Look into my eyes.”

Taeyong keeps his eyes down, “No.” 

He steps closer and takes the younger boys face in his hands, forcing his head up. Taeyong squeezes his eyes closed. 

“Open your eyes!” He demands, and Taeyong wants to cry, “Do it or I’ll kill you!”

Silence falls after that and Taeyong shakes his head once more, “Stop!” He screamed. It was loud. 

The entire castle shakes with his yell and the man grabbing his face falls a few feet away. When Taeyong opens his eyes, the shaking stops and Taeyong falls to his knees. His ears rang and his body shook with energy. 

The royal guard scrambled to his feet, and with an incredulous look he grabbed his sword and pointed it at the small boy.

“You  _ are  _ a monster!” Then he stalked forwards, lifting up the chin of the boy with the end of the sword. Taeyong didn’t open his eyes. The man brought the sword back, then swung it so it skidded across his eyebrow to his cheek. Not very deep, but deep enough that blood pooled from the gash. It coated his vision in blood, making Taeyong cry in pain. 

Then the royal guard was gone, he was alone once more. He felt his body shake as he brought his fingers to his cheek. When he pulled away, the blood dripped down his fingers. 

One thing was on his mind; however, that he  _ was  _ indeed a monster. He was vile and not ever to be loved by anyone. No matter how many days the sun set and rose, there would never be a time he’d be loved. Through the storms and sunny days, it was to remain the same. 

Taeyong began having vision problems shortly after the guard cut through his skin. It was only one of his, but it affected him a lot. As it got harder to see, reality formed into nothing but darkness and day and night. Sometimes he’d not move from his bed and wouldn’t be able to tell the time or day. On those days, he wished he was dead. But there was something in him that made him not give up just yet, as if his fate wasn’t to be destroyed so soon. 

On his nineteenth birthday he remembers as he watched the sun just barely went beneath the mountains. His glassy eyes, one now completely blind and a jagged scar going through it, healed completely. He looked at the bay, watching as villagers would happily go about their day. Despite the known corruption in the kingdom, village life wasn’t nearly as bad as it could. Each villager had a job and stable family living. It could be considered euphoria, in all honesty. 

No one visits Taeyong anymore. People drop food at his door and it lasts him weeks, but not nearly enough. The water comes from the river flowing behind the castle, it leads to a river. Taeyong only goes out there to fill his water jugs and enjoy the fresh air. Even then there is tall fences that surround the area the gate doesn’t run through the river, though. 

He wonders if anyone would ever care for him again. Living a lonely life speaking to no one. He doesn’t even know how well his voice is now, it’s been two years since he spoke. 

It’s mid-spring. Taeyong’s favorite time of year. The flowers bloom and the sun is always shining. He feels at peace. 

But with spring comes storms. 

Tonight is stormy. Taeyong hates how terrifying it is, as he never had the chance to mature from fears. Living alone in a castle for six years made him fearful of many things. 

He can recall his mom always coaxing him out of his fears. But always recalls the day he was dragged away from the castle, she didn’t look at him. All the fears came back. 

Currently, he’s curled up in the corner. His body shaking as he guides himself into peace from his anxiety. 

In the far distance, ships dropped their anchors. The waves crashed against the wood and made it a little rocky. But the Captain showed no signs of fear. 

“Are you sure, Captain?” A purple haired boy mumbles, “It’s rocky…”

“Jaehyun, I think it’s better that you follow my orders,” The Captain replies, “And for the love of God, call me Johnny.”

“Right, Johnny, sorry,” Jaehyun nodded and turned on his heel to help the others stock the ship with weapons. Johnny looked at the small village on pier. 

They stole a lot from them. They were going to pay for everything they took. Johnny fixed his jacket. 

“Board the ships!” Johnny yelled, “We attack at dawn!”

Crew members rushed to the boats and hopped on them, and Johnny got on last to ensure all of them got on. The boats dropped and they began their journey to the shores. 

Johnny knew the villagers were innocent. But that didn’t stop him from the anger that built up in him. No one wronged Captain Seo. No one messed with  _ his  _ crew. And when they did, they got the worst of it. 

It was nearing the morning when they finally got to the beach. His men rushed towards the village, immediately setting a house on fire while the others charged towards the castle. Johnny looked around and took it in. 

Families rushed from their homes, the fires spread quickly and many women took their children and ran away from the burning homes while the men tried to fight his crew. 

He walked slowly through the village, not paying mind to much other than his goal of getting to the palace and taking back what was his. Johnny drew his sword. 

It was incase someone attacked him. Despite the power in his steps, someone could get a little bold and swing at him. 

Johnny stopped in his steps when he saw on a hill not too far away a castle. It was like a fairy tale looking castle, with domes and points, long towers and long hallways. Just the place they’d hide items they’ve stolen from him. 

He looks back, his men got it down. They’ll do fine on their own. He started his way to the castle. 

The journey there was certainly long.

When he got to the gates, he noticed small baskets of food sitting at the steps and notes. It was strange, but Johnny tried to not pay too much attention to that. 

The door opened easily, with a little creak as he pushed it further. Upon entry, he immediately coughed from all the dust. If this is where they kept all their treasure, they were damn stupid. Johnny looks around the place. It’s dark and gloomy. 

There’s a small staircase that’s lit up not too far away, and Johnny immediately rushes towards it. It possibly means someone came in here, perhaps to protect whatever was in here. Thunder roared in the distance, and then was followed by a flash of lightning. His way up the stairs was intense. There was a door at the very end of it, closed and nothing more than a peep hole to open. 

When Johnny reached it, he could feel himself hesitate slightly, before swinging it and screaming to hopefully no one. 

“Lower your weapon or I’ll kill you!” Johnny screamed, but there was no one there. Nothing but a bed that looked way too old, a desk, and window in front of him. Looking around, he quirked an eyebrow. 

Then he saw it—  _ or —  _ him. There was a skinny boy curled in the dark corner, looking at him with terrified eyes and his nails digging into his legs. Johnny immediately felt a wave of sadness wash over him. Who was this kid? 

“Hey, I didn’t mean to scare you!” Johnny says apologetically, “Are you okay?”

“W-Why do—“ His voice gave out on him immediately, and he cleared his throat once more, as if to try again, “Y-You care?”

“You look so sick, do you live here?” Johnny walked over him and sank to his knees. The boy flinched and looked down. 

“Why can’t you look at me?”

The boy squeezed his eyes shut, “I-I’m a mon-mo-monster.”

“You’re a monster?” Johnny asked quietly, “What makes you say that?”

“They did th-this to me… Hid me… away…” Taeyong whispered with a soft voice , “B-Because I’m a  _ monster. _ ”

“Who are they?” 

The boy doesn’t respond and looked to the window. Somehow Johnny understood. 

“The village? The king?”

He nods and looks back to his knees. 

“There’s nothing wrong with you,” Johnny says, “They don’t know what they’re talking about. They’ve imprinted on your mind that you’re some vile creature, but you’re just a child. There’s nothing wrong with you.”

Does this man really care for him? Is he just like everyone else?

He didn’t know if he could trust so easily. Especially after being wronged so many times in his life, it just seemed wrong to trust this man because he seems interested in him. 

“How can I-I trust you?” He whispered carefully, afraid of speaking too loud, “What if you’re like e-everyone else?”

“You can’t,” Johnny replied, “But you can believe in me.”

The boy blinked as if he didn’t understand. 

“Do you want to come with me? I won’t hurt you,” Johnny said softly, “How old are you? What’s your name?”

“I’m almost twenty… M-My name is Taeyong…” Taeyong responded, “Where are you from?” 

Johnny is absolutely flabbergasted, he didn’t think boy would be a day older than fifteen at the least. His body was thin and he looked so small. Taeyong glared at him.

“I’m Johnny Seo, I’m 24. I’m the Captain of the pirate crew S.S Neo,” Johnny replies, “Please believe in me. I won’t hurt you.”

When Taeyong nods, Johnny feels shocked that it was actually agreed upon. Though he was nervous about Taeyong’s physical state, he looked bone thin and like he would pass out from exhaustion at any point. Johnny reaches a hand out to help Taeyong walk, and he takes it carefully. 

It’s very cold, but Johnny doesn’t seem to mind. Taeyong feels like he’s going to throw up. _ When was the last time he ate?  _ He didn’t know. But for an odd reason he wanted to  _ actually _ trust Johnny. He couldn’t though. After all he’s been wronged in life, he couldn’t bare trusting another soul for something as small as getting him out of the castle. 

Taeyong realizes walking is much harder than he remembers, Johnny wrapped an arm around his waist to help him walk. 

“I’m going to feed you a lot on the ship,” Johnny replies, “Don't worry about another day going hungry.”

There was a wash of warmth in his chest and he smiled a little. It wasn’t anything big, but he felt nervous and happy that he was being helped to escape the castle. Being locked away for seven years really took a toll on his health. He doesn’t remember what it’s like outside anymore other than the backyard of the castle. 

As soon as they got to the bottom level, Johnny hesitated for a moment before opening the door. 

When Johnny  _ did  _ open the door to the castle, he was surprised to see Taeyong had no reaction to the ruins the village was becoming from afar. 

The shorter boy must’ve picked up on his confusion. Taeyong pressed a hand to his eye. 

“They did this to me.”

“I’m so sorry,” Johnny replies softly, “I will do my best to make sure you never get hurt again.”

After walking a little while, Johnny eventually let Taeyong climb on his back. He was struggling with going downhill and it was the least he could do. 

It seemed to be faster than going up. They reached the gates of the village and Johnny let Taeyong down. 

“Follow me,” Johnny instructs, “Hold my jacket.”

They made their way through the fires, Johnny looking behind him every now and then to make sure Taeyong was still there. 

The village was a warzone. Knights and villagers laying everywhere and houses aflame. The smell of burning corpse and metallic blood was heavy. He could feel the tight grip on his jacket from Taeyong. 

When he reached the pier, he saw Yuta and Jaehyun discussing something, and two boats loaded with materials. He didn’t see Mark, Jungwoo, and Doyoung though. Johnny’s eyes widened. 

“Where the hell is the kid and the others?” He demanded, and Jaehyun jumped and looked at Johnny flabbergasted. 

“Holy shit we thought you were dead!” Yuta gasped, “... You brought someone as well?”

“As well? Wh— Answer my question!” Johnny snapped, and they both looked down. 

“Mark was heavily wounded saving some boy, but wouldn’t let us take him unless we took the other kid with us,” Jaehyun scratched the back of his head, “Marks being treated by Ten and Taeil back at the ship, as well as the boy.”

Taeyong wondered who the other one that was saved was. He didn’t know anyone that was good enough in this kingdom to have a little bit of compassion to charm another. They were all brainwashed and stupid. 

“Who is the kid?” Yuta asked, looking up and smiling at Taeyong, “He’s so cute!”

“The kingdom locked him in a castle, from what I can tell, they put this shit in his mind and I don’t want him to be left alone with  _ that, _ ” Johnny nods to the kingdom, “And I want to help him. He deserves to be loved and treated like a human.”

Taeyong felt his heart skip a beat,  _ loved? Was it possible for someone like him to be loved? _

He smiled at the thought and felt his cheeks grow warm. Panicking he tore his hands from the jacket and pressed them to his face.

“I think I’m dying!” Taeyong cried, “Why is my face so warm!”

Jaehyun and Yuta laughed, and Johnny shook his head, “I think you’re blushing. It’s what you do when you’re happy and flustered from a situation.”

“O-Oh…” Taeyong whispered, “So I’m not… Dying?”

“No, Taeyong, you’re not,” Johnny replies, “Let’s get going then. We’ll meet with the others at the ship. Did you do what you were meant to do?”

“Yes, I think by now they’ve detained the fires in the kingdom, but we still got back everything that was ours.” Yuta said, “The King and Queen weren’t so quick to oblige to our requests so we did what we had to do, they’re not going to be an issue for a while.”

“And the villagers?” Johnny questioned as he helped Taeyong onto the boat, “Anything worth knowing?”

“Well, one villager said that this happened because of the cursed son of the King and Queen,” Yuta hummed, “Something about being cursed by a witch.”

“Witches don’t curse people unless they’ve been wronged, that was five centuries ago when they would do it just to do it,” Johnny replies, “I don’t think the son was actually cursed. It was probably just a myth that they created to get rid of the prince. But for what reason? We’ll figure that out.”

Johnny turned to the small boy on the boat, “I’m determined to figure out what went wrong.”

When they got back to the main ship, Johnny looked to the village. It was still in flames, there were a few people standing outside the village looking at the destruction. Johnny didn’t know what this entailed, it could mean something sinister or good fortune that they took down a force so evil. 

Taeyong was still being fussed over by Ten, who was getting him into warmer clothes other than his raggy shirt and pants. He ran him a warm bath and cleaned him up. It was amusing watching Ten be so fussy over someone who wasn’t him or another crew member.

He walked down to the lower deck and into the bilge where a few of the others were. 

Mark was laying on a bed not too far away. His leg was wrapped and he had bandages around his head. He looked terrible. 

Johnny walked over to him and took a seat on his bed.

“What happened out there?” Johnny asked, “You’re one of our strongest fighters, how did you let this happen?”

Mark looked away, chewing on his lip as if he was contempl telling him, but sighed nonetheless and spoke, “When we entered the castle, the King and Queen had originally escaped out the back. They left their son behind, he was shaking and crying in the kitchen. I think he was going to kill himself if I didn’t stop him.”

Johnny stayed quiet.

“I walked in, there was a knife to his wrist and I screamed at him to stop, and he was so scared. Then I saw a pillar had crushed his leg— and he thought he was going to die.” Mark sounded choked up, “He probably was thinking that he’d rather do it himself than slowly die.”

“I called the others to help me get him out, I kept repeatedly saying I wasn’t going to hurt him, and unfortunately some soldiers came in and one got my leg, the other hit me over the head—“ There’s a brief pause, “Obviously not hard enough to make me faint, but then Jungwoo and Doyoung came in, saw the scene and managed to kill the soldiers.”

“And I’m guessing they helped you get the kid free?” Johnny questioned. 

Mark nodded, “His family  _ left  _ him. They didn’t do anything to get him with. I know how that feels. I couldn’t let him be alone.”

Johnny sighed and nodded, he understood. But he knew that there was going to be complications with Taeyong and the other prince as they were brothers most likely. 

He went into the room where Taeyong was and smiled at him, “How are you feeling?”

“Tired…” Taeyong yawned, “I feel weird.”

“Weird?”

“Yes, like not m-m—myself. I feel comfortable,” Taeyong replied. He was still looking at his lap. 

“Can you look at me in the eyes?” Johnny requested, but Taeyong stayed quiet. 

“He’s traumatized,” Ten said from behind him, nodding for Johnny to follow. As they walked out of the room, Ten hummed, “Due to his parents, the King and Queen, he’s suffered from a traumatic experience that imprinted in his mind. He won’t look at anyone in the eyes, something about a curse. To my knowledge, there was a legend of a prince who was cursed and locked away in a castle. The entire village, even his family turned on him and would only visit to feed him on the occasion. “

“That seems to not be a legend, but reality for Taeyong,” Johnny replies, “It sounds horrid. How could anyone do that to a child?”

“Many reasons. Just like my parents decided to fight until they’re last breaths, or a child decides to swim in the ocean. Everything has reasons, it’s about figuring out why they did it.”

Johnny remembers meeting Ten, he was on a voyage to a different island when he saw a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean. He decided to go to it, and sure enough there was a body laying there, surely enough not hurt or dead— just lounging. There was a fair amount of food supplies and Johnny offered to take him in and join his crew.

Turns out, Ten was an insanely smart and cryptic doctor that studied his whole life to be one, but decided to venture out and explore the seas that took away his parents. He wanted to find the mythological beast ‘the kraken’ as it was written to be a giant squid with scary features. It supposedly attacked their ship and killed his parents. Though, Johnny really just blames that on Ten’s sun poisoning and continued to treat his wounds. 

Anyone who met Ten was rather shocked that he was as smart as he was, he always knew what to do and what to fix. 

“The kid, his name is Lee Donghyuck. He’s the third child of the King and Queen, he’s seen as rather stubborn and conspicuous.” Ten says, “I read in the diaries of the Queen that Donghyuck is rather bold and always speaking out against his parents. She wished for a better son but she and her husband couldn’t seem to conceive one.”

“That’s terrible…” Johnny murmured, “Do you think they tried to make Taeyong believe he was cursed because he didn’t fit their ‘wishes’?”

Ten pulled a diary from his satchel and opened it, 

“Entry #1–“

_ My dearest husband and daughter have become worried for Taeyong. He’s grown to be fragile in the heart and often too fearful for his own good. We did not wish for a son as frail as him, he’s delicate and easily hurt. Why must God punish a royal family? Have we done wrong? My son is nothing but a pansy, he thanks the maids and brings nothing but shame to us. There has to be a way to get rid of him without suspicion of other families and the village.” _

Johnny cringes. How could a mother speak of her child so vile? Had she no shame for the words she used to talk about him?

The smaller male notices his disgust and clears his throat, “If you wish to read more, you may. But I warn you that’s not the worst of the journal.”

He nodded and watched as Ten disappeared back into the room where Taeyong stayed. 

This was strange, what changed so rapidly in the kingdom that they forced their son to live so far away from them? Why was it so hard to understand the circumstances of this situation?

Johnny wasn’t stupid, no, if anything he was as intelligent as Ten was, but he still couldn’t grasp it. It was probably no use trying at the moment, so he stalked his way up to the main deck and leaned against the banister. 

“Avast, mates!” Johnny called out, “Our second stop is Iridescence Island, where we will get our trade and speak with the keeper of the island. He’s said to of brought us a gift, but we must not trust a soul in these seas. Ready your fire at any given moment.”

Johnny walked to the helm and motioned the anchor to be brought up and the sails to be dropped, “We’ll be there in three days time!”

The crew cheered and set up of the departure, some crew men style stocking their goods from the kingdom. Johnny was proud of his crew, they were all hard working men and women alike and never failed to make him proud. 

It was the life he chose to cherish.

-

_ The storm raged over the sea, young Johnny and his parents were aboard a ship that would take them to their new home.  _

_ “Momma, I’m so scared…” Johnny whimpered, “The storm is so loud and it hurts my ears…” _

_ “Youngho, my son,” His mother held his face, “Don’t be afraid. The storm is friendly, he’s just as lonely as us humans. To understand the storm will be able to help you in the future. Fears are temporary.” _

_ “The storm is lonely?”  _

_ “Yes, my boy, the storm just wants a friend. Can you be his friend like he is Papa’s and I’s?” She smiled, and Johnny nodded quickly. He grabbed a hold of her hand.  _

_ “He is my friend.” _

_ The ship rocks and there’s water seeping through the cracks. Johnny’s mother looks worried, and she quickly takes off the emblem that was on her jacket.  _

_ “Wear this and never lose it, Youngho, go to the top deck and stay there. I’ll get your sister and father.” _

_ Johnny nodded, and ran up to the main deck. There was an onslaught of rain hitting his face and making him shiver. But Johnny looks up to the sky and smiles, “I’m your friend. I like you, you’re really my friend.” _

_ The ship rocked, the next passing second consisted of the salt water filling his lungs, hands on his arms, and most devastatingly: _

_ Never seeing his family again. _

_ - _

Johnny grabs the emblem on his chest in somber. The moment doesn’t last though, as a voice erupts from below him. 

“Johnny, how about we rest here. It’s almost night.” Doyoung says, coming up to the main deck, “You’re looking awfully tired. You need rest.”

Instead of fighting a doctor, he nods and hands the wheel over to Doyoung and makes his way to the captain's den. As soon as he settled, there was a knock on his door and Ten entered with Jisoo.

“You’re wanted in West bilge, you need to talk to Donghyuck,” Jisoo said, “He’s scared, suicidal, and in need of an authority figure to speak over him. At the moment he’s on suicide watch in Yuta’s cabin, but we helped move him to the West bilge to make it more comfortable.”

“Is he that shaken?” Johnny questioned, “Jesus Christ, what kind of people were they to traumatize two of their children like that?”

Jisoo shrugged, “I don’t know anything more than you do.”

When they both looked at Ten, he rose his hands in defense, “This is disclosed information. I promised I wouldn’t share the info. Besides it’s not morally right to do so. Donghyuck will do that on his own terms.”

“I’ll be there.”

-

So, there’s a problem that Ten didn’t include. 

“Donghyuck, it’s not going to be easy if you don’t speak to me,” Johnny pleads, “Just one word?”

Donghyuck won't talk to anyone except Mark, Yuta, and Ten. That’s all. Johnny has tried, but it's like getting a stray animal to trust you. They’re scared and not willing to trust easily. Johnny also doesn’t know what this kid has been through, so that makes it more rough to avoid the tough spots. So, Johnny sighs inwardly and praises to God, then looks back at the kid. 

“I know it doesn’t seem like it, but no one will hurt you here,” Johnny says softly, “And you know, losing everything you thought you had at the tip of your fingers is hard. I lost my parents when I was only nine, sailing is all I know.”

He reaches for the emblem on his chest, “There’s a lot of things in this world that can hurt you. Sometimes they get you and you’re so  _ scared,  _ but you have to remember to take deep breaths and try to fight it.”

Donghyuck stays quiet, looking at him as if he was crazy, but also with some sort of soft emotion to him, he looks back down when they meet eyes. So Johnny continues, “The sea is so beautiful. You will never go a day unamazed with the life and joy that it brings. It brought me from my darkest places in life, hell it almost took it too, but I never strayed away.”

The boy smiles, and Johnny feels his heart warm, “We say things that are crazy sometimes. We’re a family though and we work through it. No matter what. We’re all family here, like not blood-family, but we love each other and we want to be there for each other.”

Johnny stands and places a hand on the younger’s head, “I hope that one day, when you’re smiling, you think of the sea and remember that it’s always going to bring you home if you’re good to it.”

With those final words, Johnny walked back onto deck and breaths in. He sees Taeyong on the deck in between Jaehyun and Taeil.

“Why isn’t he resting?” Johnny says, walking over to the boys. They look at him confused, before Taeil gapes his mouth. 

“Ah, he wanted to look at the stars,” Taeil smiles, and Taeyong blushes softly.

“I really like the stars,” Taeyong said, “When it would be dark, I could see all the s-stars in the galaxy. I don’t know much a-about them though…”

Johnny grins, “The stars  _ are  _ beautiful. The sea loves them just as much, you know?”

“How do you know?” Taeyong asked eagerly, “A-Are you serious?”

“Deep sea serious!” Johnny laughs, “The sea told me.”

“You can talk to the s—s-sea?” Taeyong eyes were wide, he looked so excited and Johnny wanted to cry.  _ Happy tears of course, but he didn’t want to alarm Taeyong.  _

“Of course I can,” Johnny helps Taeyong stand, “Let me show you something.”

With the help of Johnny, Taeyong makes it to the side of the ship and steadies himself on the railing. He smiles when he sees little creatures jumping in and out of the water around the ship. Johnny looked at Taeyong, he looked absolutely amazed. He wished Taeyong would look into his eyes. 

“What are they called?” Taeyong asks, “Are they sharks?”

“No, no, they’re dolphins,” Johnny responded, “I’ll have to teach you about a lot.”

“Oh, no no,” Taeyong replies, “I-I’m not like, s—s-stupid, I read a lot of books in th-the castle. It was a-all I really had. So I know  _ most  _ things.”

“Oh, I see, I’m sorry for doubting your intelligence,” Johnny responded. He felt stupid. Of course Taeyong wouldn’t be  _ that  _ naive. Especially considering the circumstances. Taeyong closed his eyes.

“I’m not offended or a-anything,” Taeyong says, “I would assume the same if you were in my shoes.”

“Still apologetic,” Johnny sighed, “Are you hungry for dinner yet?”

“But I’ve already eaten?” Taeyong questioned, “Why would I eat more?”

“Taeyong, having one meal a day isn’t how it’s supposed to go,” Johnny corrects, “You’re supposed to have three meals a day for a balanced diet.”

“Uhm…” 

Of course, in a way Taeyong knew that. He lived with his parents for thirteen years, but that did not mean he got fed well. He was taught all the basics of human anatomy, how things worked, how he’d be the king someday and have children, but they didn’t teach him other things. Only how to read, write, and the rules of the throne and land when ruling. Taeyong wasn’t as stupid as everyone on this ship probably thought he was. He just slowly had to get back into the normal life, being captive for seven years and only living off minimal care wasn’t helping. After not speaking for over two years, his voice has grown weak and he developed some sort of stutter that he hoped went away with time.

“Taeyong…?” Johnny nudges his shoulder. It’s not too rough, “Let’s get dinner, then you have to get rest, okay? Tomorrow is a big day.”

He didn’t know what a  _ big  _ day meant. It could mean anything. It could be the start of a new day, that he’s being sent back, that he’s being killed—

What he never expected was to awaken the next morning by being slightly shaken by Johnny. He had warm eyes and a smile, and Taeyong was lucky enough that he flinched away in time to look away. 

“Taeyong, you’re not a monster,” Johnny whispered, “You don’t have to keep looking away from me.”

Taeyong untensed slightly, but still didn’t look at the other boy.

“I have to take you to the West bilge, there’s someone you need to meet,” Johnny sounded hesitant. Like he was about to do something he really shouldn’t, but was doing anyways. Ten advised that they need to meet, the sooner the better. 

Johnny helped Taeyong out of bed, helping him walk up the stairs as well. It was slightly awkward, there wasn’t any conversation being made. Taeyong didn’t quite mind, probably not as much as Johnny did at least. He looked like he wanted to say something, but couldn’t. 

They reached their destination shortly, and Taeyong was sat on a chair in front of another. 

“A-Are you making me look into s—s-someone’s eyes?” Taeyong said, he sounded pained, “I-I can’t… N-Not now… I’m n-not ready yet.”

“No!” Johnny gasped, “No, no, you only have to look into their eyes if you’re comfortable. I don’t know if you will be or not. This is all up to you.”

Johnny knocked on the door to let Ten know he was ready, and when the door opened Donghyuck didn’t recognize Taeyong immediately, but Taeyong seemed to—

“I hate you.” Taeyong said, “I hate you, and Junhee, a-and m-m—mo—  _ God!” _

Taeyong was looking into Donghyuck’s eyes. There was nothing but pure anger in those eyes. 

His were beautiful, dark brown, almost black. 

“Y-You  _ left  _ m-m—me…” Taeyong cried, “You left m-m—me to  _ die!” _

Donghyuck looked mortified. But there was no trace of anger in his eyes. Johnny felt a pang of guilt, he didn’t do this to make Taeyong upset— No— this isn’t what he wanted. He wanted them to hug, realize that they missed each other, and try to form a bond that was never there. But Taeyong was shaking from fear? No, it looked to be sadness. His thoughts were interrupted by Taeyong’s voice.

“W-When I saw you all,” Taeyong sniffed, interrupting his sentence, “ _ Together _ . I felt s-sad. M—My thoughts were scattered.  _ How  _ could m-my family leave m-me like I was n-n— _ nothing!” _

There’s still no response from the other. Johnny stares. Taeyong doesn’t continue speaking to Donghyuck, he just stands up and stumbles a little, but Johnny grabs hold of him and wraps an arm around his waist. 

It was quiet the entire way back to his cabin, and Johnny felt a little nervous that Taeyong and Donghyuck had a rough start— well, Taeyong had a rough start with him. He was also shocked that Taeyong looked into his eyes. Nothing happened though. 

_ Nothing happened. _

As he helped Taeyong lay down on the bed, Johnny cleared his throat. He sighed, “I know you’re upset right now, but Taeyong… When you looked into his eyes, nothing bad happened. No bad luck came.”

Taeyong didn’t move much, he just kept his eyes closed, “I’d like to be alone right now.”

“Okay, but remember Taeyong, you’re not a monster— your parents were the monsters for doing that to you,” Johnny closed the door and slumped against it, running a hand along his face.

A few moments later, Taeil appeared in front of him.

The short man cleared his throat, “Ten requested that you see him.”

-

Mark stares at Donghyuck from across the bilge. He’s been sitting in the same chair for god knows how long. But obviously he couldn’t move, he was probably not going to be able to walk on his leg ever again. His condition was not good. Hell, Mark’s own bedridden self was not good, but he groaned and tried to wiggle from his bed. 

When he as successful, he looked at the cane next to his bed. He helped himself onto it and made his way as best as he could to the younger boy. Mark winced at the feeling of pressure on his leg, but kept pushing. 

He finally collapses on the seat in front of him, Donghyuck looks up at him with curiosity. 

“Mark?” Donghyuck questions, “You’re not supposed to be out of bed.”

“You aren’t either,” Mark says, “And you’re supposed to be on suicide watch.”

Donghyuck goes quiet. 

“You know, Taeyong still loves you,” Mark says, “Somewhere deep beneath that mask he has, he still loves you. He knows that you didn’t make the decision.”

Donghyuck huffs out a laugh, “You think that? Did you see the way he looked at me?”

Mark nods, “You know, this area is right across from the medic cabin.” He watched as Donghyuck’s face fell. 

“I just want everything to end Mark,” He whispered, “Why am I not good enough for anyone? My parents wanted me to be great, but I failed them. They left me behind.”

The younger boy wipes at his face, “I’m so sick of always being wrong, I want Taeyong to know what I’m feeling. I want to know what  _ he’s  _ feeling. Why can’t things just be okay? I shouldn’t even be hurt because I’m the one who fucking left him behind!”

He started to cry, at this point the most Mark could do is place a hand on his knee and rub it, “Donghyuck, look at me,” Donghyuck looks up at Mark, “Life sucks. Everyone on this ship has been through terrible shit. Don’t undermine what you’re feeling because someone has had it worse than you. Everything you feel is okay here, no one will shame you for being sad.”

Donghyuck stays quiet and places his own hand on Marks, so the older boy continues, “We’re a family. We all understand each other in different ways, we don’t ever leave anyone behind. We’ve lost people along the way, but we’ve carried our burdens for so long. Being here on this ship was like throwing them all away. On here, you’re free. We have this entire ship and the sea. We have  _ our  _ future on the horizon.”

Mark looked at Donghyuck, a quiet expression was on his face. The tears were slowly drying.

“I want to be okay again.”

“And you will be,” Mark replied.

Two figures burst through the door at that moment, and Mark rolled his eyes. 

“Ah! Donghyuck you’re still in that spot? Where’s Yuta, why did he leave you like that?” Ten fussed, “And Mark! Why did you get out of bed!”

Johnny laugher, “Ten calm down, they were probably just talking. They’re fine, right guys?”

The two boys nodded, but Ten wasn’t satisfied, “No, no, this is serious Johnathen, we can’t just let them wander about while they’re both in need of medical care.”

“I know, Ten, but they didn’t go far!” Johnny tried, “Besides, when was the last time you had a break? Leave it to me and Taeil. Go rest.”

Ten blinks, “No.”

“Ten,” Johnny warns, “Come on, please.”

There’s a hesitation, but eventually Ten sighs and crosses his arms, “If one thing goes wrong, I’ll have your head.”

Then he goes to the deck to get Taeil, and Johnny and the boys are left in silence. 

“I’m sorry for getting up Johnny,” Mark apologizes, “Donghyuck too! But I have a request, if that’s okay!”

“What is it?”

“Do you think Donghyuck and I can share a room?” Mark asked, “I feel more comfortable being with someone. It’s lame and all Jun does is sleep.”

Johnny laughs a little, then rubs his head, “I’ll see what I can do.”

-

The waves gently wash against the sides of the boat as they make their way through the sea. Stars shine brightly, and everything is peaceful.

Johnny is leaning against the side railing, looking at the sea. He was enjoying a drink and just finished smoking when a hand fell on his shoulder. 

“Hey mate,” Jaehyun grinned, “What’re ya doin?”

“Just enjoying the sea, it’s a little restless today, someone must’ve disturbed it.”

“Huh,” Jaehyun looks out into the distance, “You’ve always had you way with the sea. You’re honestly inspiring Johnny, your parents would be so proud of who you are today.”

The emblem on Johnny’s chest feels heavy, “I know.” He holds it again and sighed, “They’re somewhere out there, I know it.”

“Yeah, somewhere.” Jaehyun responds, “Don’t stay up too late, you know, also check on Taeyong. He’s only been scene few times today and that was to discuss his medical condition with Taeil.”

“I will,” Johnny says, “I’m gonna be out here for a little bit so don’t wait up.” Jaehyun nods and says goodnight to him, then heads towards his hammock. 

He is out there for a while, he stares at the stars and thinks for a bit. Johnny wonders for a moment if his parents are watching over him and they are proud, or if they’re somewhere happily living. 

The sea rocks the boat a little rougher, and then calms.

“There’s a storm coming isn’t there?”

The boat rocks again.


	2. The Curse of Carpathia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw // mentions of abuse / violence / killing

The first thing Johnny awakens to is someone shaking him roughly. The calloused hands on his shoulders shaking him roughly.

“Johnny, Johnny, wake up! It’s Donghyuck! Wake up!” Somehow, someway Johnny is able to register it as Mark’s voice and practically jolts up.

“What’s wrong?” Johnny questions, he turns in the hammock uncomfortably and places his feet on the ground. Mark is sobbing and shaking. It’s weird. 

In the years Johnny has known him, he knows his best friend isn’t one to cry so quickly. It takes a lot to get him riled up and something about this makes his gut twist.

“Donghyuck won’t wake up! He’s breathing, but he’s not waking up and even Ten is panicking!” Mark grabs Johnny’s sleeve and pulls him out of the captains (the best he can do with one good leg at the moment) quarters and drags him all the way to the West bilge. 

When he entered he saw Taeyong down there as well. He was sitting in the corner looking off into the distance as Ten was dabbing at Donghyuck’s head with a wet rag.

“He’s been out for two and a half hours with no signs of waking up,” Ten said, clearing his throat. He stood up and walked to Johnny, “I think he’s sick with something, it could be tuberculosis...”

Mark shifted in the seat. Johnny knew Mark was pretending not to listen. 

“Me and Taeil are tracking his symptoms and we’ll have to wait until we get to the island to get the medical treatment he probably needs,” Ten continues, he turns back to Donghyuck, “We don’t know how much longer we have.”

Johnny clears his throat. That was a terrifying thought, they’ve lost crew members before to diseases like tuberculosis. They were young, and living in a ship isn’t exactly very healthy. In fact, it was near death every day to live on it.

Despite the large ship they had, one they’ve been given by a kingdom not too far away, despite its advanced technology for a ship (such as cabins, beds for sick mates, and specialized room specifically for bathing) it was still unrecommended living conditions. It was easy to get sick and sleeping when on the ocean was peaceful, yet rocky. Johnny knew that it wasn’t impossible that Donghyuck wouldn’t make a full recovery so quick, but he felt guilt pang in his heart.

He looks to the corner of the room and sees Taeyong gripping the chair so hard his knuckles are white. Taeyong’s eyes are red, and his eyes are directly on Donghyuck’s sleeping form. Johnny goes over to Taeyong and taps his shoulder, motioning for him to follow.

Taeyong registers it a second later and gets up. 

When the two are alone outside the room, Johnny waits to see if Taeyong is going to say anything. 

“Th-This is m-my fault.” Taeyong whispers, “I-If I didn’t l—l-look into his eyes he wouldn’t be s-s— _ sick—  _ and he’d be rec-covering.”

Johnny feels his heart drop, “Taeyong this isn’t your fault. This in no way is your fault and it’s just by pure coincidence that he got ill. You are  _ not  _ at fault here.”

The boy stays silent, he continues looking at the ground and sucks in a deep breath, “Everyone h- here treats m-me as if I’m s—some  _ child.  _ I’m not a fucking child.” Taeyong states, “E-Everyone looks at m-me like I’m a fucking zoo a-a—animal and it makes me so  _ mad.  _ I know how to think like an adult… I just don’t know  _ everything  _ a-an adult does.” 

It’s shocking to hear such a statement coming out of Taeyong’s mouth, but Johnny doesn’t want to disrespect how the latter is feeling. He looks so angry, sad, and his fists are clenched together. To say the least he does look a little healthier than he did yesterday.

“Taeyong that’s not our intent to make you feel that way,” Johnny sighs, “We’re sorry. You don’t deserve to feel that way. Even if it isn’t our intent we should recognize that you’re the same as us. And you  _ are  _ the same as us. There’s nothing wrong with you and you don’t have to be afraid. We want you to be happy and comfortable.”

The younger boy wraps his arms around himself and shakes his head, “I just don’t know anymore.”

Johnny raises an eyebrow, “What? What do you not know anymore, Taeyong?”

“Who I am.” 

That’s not what Johnny had expected to come out of his mouth. He looks down at Taeyong’s hands at frowns, “No one knows who they are.”

Taeyong looks like he wants to continue this conversation. But there’s nothing more that can be said than the silence. So Johnny walks over to Taeyong and wraps his arms around the small body.

Johnny least expects Taeyong to hug him back, but he does. There’s arms wrapped around his upper torso and Taeyong buries his head into his chest. He’s slightly shaking, his body is cold too. 

“You don’t ever have to truly know who you are, as long as you’re here with me and everyone else you can be whoever you want to be.” Johnny whispers, it’s gentle. Taeyong lets out a shaky breath and squeezes him tighter. It’s probably been so long since he was last given a proper hug. He feels so hurt that anyone would do this to another human. 

“You’re not cursed, there’s no way you can be cursed. You’re not a monster, or vile, or anything of the sort,” Johnny mumbled, “I will show you what it means to be brave.”

————

Courtesy of the sea, it drifted them much further than they expected. Along the way winds picked up speed and the distinct outline of an island came into view, but Johnny wasn’t entirely sure that was Iridescence. It looked much larger in comparison to their previous visit. 

“Doyoung, please take over sailing. Get as close to the island without being suspicious, I need to check the maps.” Doyoung salutes and grabs the wheel, allowing Johnny to walk off main deck. As he enters the captains quarters he distinctly hears Doyoung order some of the sails to be lifted and others to be dropped. 

He takes out his most recently updated map and lays it across his desk. Johnny is confused, if they had followed the sea west of the Ember Kingdom (the one they had recently attacked) they should’ve ended up in the sea of the Iridescence Kingdom and island. Johnny places a hand over his mouth and trails his fingers over the map. There’s a slight rough spot that seemed to be covered up. He quirked an eyebrow. 

“Strange,” Johnny hummed, he sat up from his seat and went over to his chest were he kept all of his older maps. He dug until he could find the oldest one.

It was dated eight years ago, and Johnny unraveled it, coughing when the dust flew everywhere. He brought it over to the other map and held them next to each other. 

Right in the rough spot on the new map, there was an island on the older one.  _ Carpathia Island.  _

There’s a legend that the island sunk, went off the radar, whatever it was and whoever inhabited or traveled to it was dead or the ship went missing. When Johnny learned about the island his immediate reaction was that the island had probably never existed and due to the changing sea currents caused the ships to sink. Delirium was very common and often pirates saw things that never existed, but now he was seeing the Carpathia Island. 

Johnny quickly walked out onto the deck and onto the deck of the ship. He looked at the island. It had extreme vegetation and there were clouds above it. Clearly not Iridescence Island. 

His jaw tightened.

“Everything okay Cap?” Jaehyun said from behind him. His eyes were looking exactly where Johnny’s previously were though. 

“Carpathia Island. Disappeared ten years ago and was under the impression of whoever traveled there went missing,” Johnny said, “The island isn’t supposed to be here. Some people say that pirates imagined it from delirium and hallucinations. Sea currents just ten years ago were at a dangerous speed and it wasn’t good to travel then. It’s not supposed to be here, but I know that we’ve taken the right way.”

“What are you saying?” Jaehyun questioned, “You’re not implying that we go there, right?”

Johnny hummed a little. It was only his intention to do a sweep by and inspect the island for any signs of life, but Jaehyun mentioned going  _ to  _ the island. 

“Well we might just have to,” Johnny replies, “Whoever,  _ if any _ , is on that island who knows how many years they’ve gone thinking where everyone was and why it’s so quiet?”

Jaehyun seems flabbergasted, “We are  _ not  _ going to that island!”

“I’m Captain, Jaehyun, I make the plans and voyages,” Johnny says, “You don’t have to go onto the island. You can stay back with some crew incase anything does go wrong.”

“Why would you imply that something will go wrong?” Jaehyun gasped, “Why would you imply that you may not come back?”

“Life isn’t always fair, Jaehyun,” Johnny responds, “Whether I come back dead or alive is all in the hands of fate.”

“And Taeyong? What would he say when the only person who he relatively trusts on this godforsaken ship is fucking dead!” Jaehyun shouts, “You’re gonna risk everything because you wanna see if there’s people still out there on an island that went literally  _ off  _ the  _ radar!” _

“I suggest you calm down before you throw things around that make no sense, Jaehyun. You overthink too much.” Johnny remains calm. He always does. Whenever he’s mad he is silent about it and plots everything in his head. That’s why it’s hard to tell when Johnny is angry, because he never verbally shows it. Johnny walks back to the captains quarters, only half expecting Jaehyun to actually follow. 

“Fine, Johnny, but if you are gone… Who’s going to step up and take your place?” Jaehyun whispers, “Who’s going to be the one that leads us?”

“I’ll let you decide that,” Johnny replied, his voice is calm. It’s serious and full of importance. For a moment it’s quiet and then Jaehyun nods.

“Okay.” 

Then he’s gone from the captains quarters, and Johnny is left in his own silence. 

It wasn’t that Johnny didn’t trust Jaehyun’s instincts. Because he did, and he himself didn’t trust that the island was safe. But if there were people on there who had been stranded for so long, not knowing what was going on… then he had to do something about it. There had to be a reason the island was said to have disappeared. He looks at the maps and sighs. This entire situation was messy, he wanted Taeyong to trust him, but he also wanted Donghyuck to be comfortable on the ship. By no means did Johnny know anything that went on in the Ember Kingdom. He didn’t, and that was something he’d most likely never find out if Donghyuck never spoke to him. 

The ship jolts a little bit and Johnny is jerked from his thoughts. He immediately goes out to the deck to see what had gone wrong. When he went out there he saw Doyoung on the bottom deck and Jaehyun right in front of him. He looked like he was fuming. 

“You’re batshit crazy!” Jaehyun screamed, he grabbed Doyoung by the collar and slammed him against the wall of the ship, “You think this is some sort of ducking joke!”

Doyoung shifted uncomfortably, “Due to the circumstances that you’ve put me in I refuse to acknowledge that question until further notice.”

Johnny stormed up and ripped them apart, “Why the hell do I always have to rip you two apart? Can you have some peace for once? Or do you want me to leave you for the sharks?”

The two reddened, and Doyoung crossed his arms, “Jaehyun called me stupid. I said that I’ll feed him to the lions on the island.”

He physically held himself back from rolling his eyes, “Really, Jaehyun?”

“That’s not all of it. I called him stupid because he doesn’t know how to work the ship and said that we have to go in on our ship rather than the boats.” Jaehyun says, “He then said that  _ I’m  _ stupid and said that if I can’t read the weather then I need to read a book because only incompetent people don’t know about the weather cycles. Then he said he’ll feed me to the lions.”

“You two always have something to bicker about,” Johnny mumbled, “Jaehyun, Doyoung is right. The sea would totally take us out if we went in on our boats. And Doyoung, don’t threaten to feed people to lions.”

Doyoung huffs and rolls his eyes, “Stupid people deserve to get eaten by lions.”

“You brat!” Jaehyun snaps, “Do you want me to—“

“Don’t finish that sentence, Jaehyun, I don’t want to know what you’ll do to Doyoung for being a brat,” Johnny says, “Stop fighting. Or I’ll be the one to feed you both to the lions.”

Doyoung squints, “Hey!”

Johnny gives one last warning glance before getting back on the man deck where the wheel was. They weren’t too far from the island, but Johnny knew they couldn’t go in so easily. Besides, by the way the water was moving Johnny knew that there was nothing but trouble brewing, but there was nothing too dangerous.

He can still distinctly hear Doyoung and Jaehyun bickering, while a few other crew members were playing cards or taking note of the stock on their ship. A few were sleeping or otherwise cleaning the deck. 

The island became more clear the closer Johnny got to it, there was a small pier that looked run down and not used in years, but Johnny still made his way towards it. Probably the safest way, anyways. 

Landing was rough, the sea was slightly agitated which probably meant it was going to storm sooner or later, but nothing out of the ordinary. He ordered the anchor to be dropped and then he walked down to the deck.

“Alright, mates, were stopping here. Not all of us will go and if we’re not back by the fourth night, take that as we’re gone,” Johnny speaks loudly, “One medic will stay aboard, Ten, and Taeil you will come with us. As well as Seulgi, Yuta, Kun, and Doyoung.”

Jaehyun shifts uncomfortably, “What do we do if you don’t return?”

“I appoint you as captain, Jaehyun, I have trust in you to do so,” Johnny says, “I trust you to take care of my men, especially Donghyuck and Taeyong.”

The younger man almost speaks, but it cut off by a soft shaky voice, “J-Johnny? Where are you going?” Taeyong stands in front of him. He’s looking down at his hands.

“We’re going to venture the island, we’ll be back,” Johnny responds, but his voice is unsure. Taeyong blinks at him. 

“You’re u-unsure of yourself,” Taeyong says quietly, “Let m-me come with you.”

Johnny immediately shakes his head, “No, you should be resting.”

“I’m f-fine.” Taeyong responds, “I have s-s—strength back.” 

“Taeyong…” Johnny says, “I don’t—“

“Let him go, Johnny,” Ten cuts in, “He can be helpful.”

Taeyong turns and offers a generous smile to Ten, still looking past him, but the smile is still there. It's a smile he’s never seen before. Johnny stares in something he can’t put a name to. He just knows he wants Taeyong to smile at him like that and no one else. 

“Okay,” Johnny decides, “He can come.” 

The small boy smiles widely and wraps his arms around Johnny’s waist, “Thank you!”

Johnny’s heart about melts, but he sucks it up and places a gentle hand on Taeyong’s head, “We leave at dawn.”

Dawn comes too quick, and there’s three backpacks for the six of them and enough food to last a couple of days. Johnny is nervous to bring Taeyong. He doesn’t know how much of the wild he’s seen or been in, if ever. But if Ten says that Taeyong is capable of coming along then he trusts that. 

Taeil is the last off the ship and he crosses his arms, “Think there’s actually people here, Johnny boy?” He teases, and Johnny rolls his eyes. 

The small man is quite the character. He’s charming and incredibly smart. Taeil could probably name every insect in the book (but can’t tell his left from right) and be able to point out poisonous plants from a mile away. He was one of the first to come along the crew, not including Mark because they’ve been best friends since after the wreck. Johnny doesn’t think he’d get very far without Taeil. 

“Of course I do,” Johnny says, though his voice defies him. Taeil snorts and tightens the backpack around his waist. 

Then the wave goodbye to the rest of the crew and disappear into the bushes of the forest. Taeil warns them a few times that a plant is dangerous and more than Johnny would like to say, he’s pulled Doyoung away from a spiderweb. Taeyong was doing well though, he seemed to keep watch and be careful with where he stepped. 

Ten was right about Taeyong being helpful too, he accounted multiple berry bushes that were edible and that they could eat if they were hungry. Taeil confirmed it as true, and turns out that Taeyong had read a lot about nature and things such as that. 

“How much longer do we have to walk,” Yuta pouted, “I’m tired. I’m a  _ baby _ . I can't walk a lot!”

“Yuta you’ve killed people,” Kun says, “And you draw the line at walking?”

“I’m a boujee type of guy,” Yuta says pointedly, “I like boujee things. When I kill people I kill people in fashion, you think I’m just killin’ them stupid?”

Seulgi smacks his head, “Yuta you’re so stupid, we kill people because they’re bad. They’re no such thing as ‘boujee’ killing.”

Yuta doesn’t respond, just crosses his arms with another pout. The forest wasn’t quiet. There were birds chirping, water pattering onto leaves above them, the sounds of insects and occasional snapping of twigs and so forth. But it was oddly unsettling. There was no sign of life anywhere other than the animals.

Taeyong abruptly stopped, causing everyone else to as well. Johnny frowned. 

“Are you okay?” 

“No, I f-feel weird,” Taeyong mumbled, he pressed a hand to his head, “I feel uns-settled and… like something bad i-is going to happen.”

The others looked at Taeyong cautiously, and Seulgi perked up from behind him, “Maybe it’s something like a sixth sense!”

The group looked at her, and Seulgi shrugged, “It’s not entirely unreasonable. I mean, Taeyong is so cool. I bet—“

An arrow whirls past her head and slams into the tree next to her, “—He is right.”

Johnny draws his sword immediately and pushes his crew behind him, “Show yourself and you won’t get hurt!” 

There’s silence— as if the entire forest just lost all its rhythm. Taeyong is holding onto Johnny’s sleeve.

Yuta frowns, “Wow! Threaten them? What do you think that’s gonna do, Johnathan!”

“Listen Yuta, if they’re gonna attack us then they’d do it now!”

“I think they’re going to attack us!” Seulgi flared, “You probably scared the shit out of them! What’re ya gonna do when they aim again, cry out and beg for forgiveness?”

“Is now really time for fighting?” Doyoung frowned, “Johnny aren’t you supposed to be the peacemaker? You threatened to feed us to the lions.”

They’re cut off by a roar, and Kun frowns, “Look what you did, Doyoung.”

“I didn’t do shit!” Doyoung said, his voice offended. Taeyong rolled his eyes.

“S-Someone is here, I feel their presence,” Taeyong whispered, cutting everyone off, as if he was scared to say it, “Th-They’re not going to kill us. They’re just s—s-scared.”

“See, I feel like Taeyong is the only one who really knows what the fuck is going on here,” Yuta said. The five looked at him.

“I think you should shut up and let Taeyong speak to them,” Kun says, shoving shoulders with Yuta.

Doyoung stares hard into the vegetation, the leaves away slightly. Taeyong speaks again.

“You c-can trust us,” Taeyong says a little louder, “P-Please don’t be afraid. W-We just want to understand.” 

Two hooded figures appear, and one of them is next to a panther. 

“A panther? The fuck is that doing in a rainforest?” Seulgi frowns, “Those live in rainforests?”

“Actually they're common in rainforests…” Taeil says with a little pout, “But… I don’t think that’s the point of the whole ordeal.”

Johnny looks at Taeil, then the two figure, “I’m Johnny Seo, captain of S.S Neo. We’re here to find out why your island is so closed off from the world. What went wrong.”

They look at each other, and one of them takes off their hood. He has sharp eyes and chiseled features, making him look handsome and intimidating. His hair is a soft pink color, easing the intimidation. Yuta shifts next to Doyoung.

“Who are you?” Yuta says, “We’re not here to hurt you.” 

“You just told us you’ve killed people,” The man says, “How do we know that you won’t kill us?”

The panther growls next to the other man, making Yuta step back, “I kill bad people! Are you bad?”

“Depends, are you here to harm my people?” He replies, “My leader isn’t very happy that we’ve encountered thirsty for treasure people. We had to sink them or kill them.”

He looks at the other hooded man behind him and then turns back to the group, “Who’s to say we didn’t already kill your people?”

“We don’t attack just anybody, we attack when people have wronged us. Correct me if I’m wrong, but your island had literally disappeared off the face of the Earth.” Johnny spat, “Don’t be so ignorant.”

“We didn’t disappear!” The other hooded man cried, “They killed our people, then they put some curse on us so we’d never be found!”

The panther gets ready to charge, clearly alarmed that his master was crying, but the other man put his hand out and eased the anger, “Jungwoo. It’s fine.”

It didn’t stop him from crying though, and he sunk to his knees and the panther sits in front of him to shield the boy. 

“My name is Dong Sicheng, I’m of the Carpathia Kingdom. We went off the radar years ago, ever since we’ve had visitors who have broken the barrier and have taken from our Kingdom,” Sicheng explains, “We’ve been on guard since the passing of our King, who was slain by the Ember Kingdom’s King and warriors. Though me and my partner have done bad things, they don’t know what we do is to protect them.”

“Ember Kingdom?” Doyoung says, “That’s the Kingdom—“

Johnny halts him, “What else do you know of the Ember Kingdom?”

“They had three children. Their first daughter who was set to marry into the Prince of Arminius. She’s probably their most  _ elegant  _ child. Then there was their second son. He wasn’t like the others. Didn’t fit in. He was born with a sixth sense and his parents banished him to the cursed castle, if there’s negativity within the walls bad things happen. Then their third son, who was very against his parents and their ways. They practically tried to brainwash him into—“

“How d-do you know this,” Taeyong mumbled, “How do you know so m-much about—“

Taeyong clenches his fist tighter around Johnny’s sleeve, “My kingdom…”

Sicheng look taken aback, “You’re the prince?”

He nods softly, “They left me to die.”

“We know so much about your kingdom because we used to be in alliance with them, but they attacked us at midnight when we least expected it,” Sicheng sighed, “You’re not a bad person. I know you’re not, your parents were cruel people.”

Johnny nods in agreement, “I don’t want any bad blood between us.” 

Sicheng steps forwards and holds his hand out, “I hope we can form a relationship in the near future.”

Jungwoo, who was sitting on the ground finally stands up, “I want to go with you. I want to leave this island.”

“What?” Sicheng looks at the other bewildered, “Jungwoo are you sure—“

“They don’t need us. We’re bandits, Sicheng. We have to get off the island,” Jungwoo’s voice shakes, “We can’t hide for much longer.”

“You can come with us,” Johnny immediately says, “We are always welcoming new people. We have a lot of room.”

Taeil nods, “Yes, yes. God, we will take you with us.”

Sicheng looks at Taeil, “Why? What’s it going to cost us?”

“Nothing, we welcome everyone.”

“So are we just going to ignore the elephant in the room?” Doyoung says, “They literally said Taeyong has a sixth sense!”

———

_ “Taeyong what!”  _ Ten practically yells, “And who are they?” 

Ten is quite the character when he’s mad.

“You come back after being gone for five days and suddenly you come back with two people?” Ten fumed, “Johnny we thought you were dead.  _ Again! Again  _ Johnny! Stop doing shit that makes us worried to our stomachs!”

“Ten, we were gone for literally half a day,” Johnny frowns, “Five days— what are you talking about?”

“You were gone,” Ten said, “We we’re ready to leave everything behind. But I had faith you were coming back.”

“So you’re telling me, even though we were gone for what was to us half a day was five days to you guys?”

Johnny looked at Sicheng, “How long were you guys hidden?”

Sicheng shrugged, “We weren’t alive when it happened.”

Doyoung crosses his arms, “So there must’ve been some magic in the forest. Half a day in the forest is five days outside of it.” 

Jaehyun clapped, “Wow! You’re so smart Doyoungie!”

Johnny slapped Jaehyun across the head, “Please shut up. Sicheng, Jungwoo, what crimes have you committed that made your kingdom against you?”

The two boys stare, but Jungwoo speaks first, “We killed people that tried to take from us. That weren’t there to help us, but to hurt us— they thought we were preventing them from getting help.”

“I still don’t understand how we were able to see the island,” Ten says, “If it’s hidden then how were we or anyone able to get to it?”

“Well, according to what we know is if there’s any sort of magic on a ship it’ll break the curse,” Sicheng said, “I’m guessing your key was Taeyong. He’s a gift.”

Taeyong shifts. 

Johnny looks at them, “Do you know how to treat sick people?”

“Well, I would hope so,” Jungwoo said, “That’s Sicheng’s thing. He’s some sort of healer!”

“Healer?” 

“Like he heals people!” Jungwoo smiled, “I get sick a lot. I would know.” 

Sicheng frowns, “I can help you, but only because you helped us. We will not discuss what I can do any further, right Jungwoo?”

“Oh. Right,” Jungwoo nods, “Sorry Sichengie…”

“It’s over now, take me to the sick.” Sicheng waved off.

When they all gathered around Donghyuck, Sicheng seemed put off. He walked over to the boy and kneeled next to him. 

“What’s his name?”

“Donghyuck,” Johnny responded, “He’s the third son of the Ember Kingdom.”

“I see,” Sicheng placed his hands in the youngers, squeezing them, “He’s very ill. It was most likely due to the neglect at his home. His immune system had to of failed on him after so much fighting.”

Johnny looked at Taeyong, who was looking at the ground listening intently. Sicheng continued. 

“This should be an easy one to heal,” Sicheng said. The room went quiet and it seemed as if nothing was happening, but moments later Donghyuck jolted awake and coughed harshly.

“What— What happened?” 

“You were asleep for five days, Donghyuck,” Ten said, “Sicheng healed you. You’re okay now.”

“I— Thank you?” Donghyuck mumbled, “I was asleep for five days?”

“Yes, you were very ill,” Sicheng responds, “You probably wouldn’t have made it. Even with the best medicines out there. You’re very lucky.”

Donghyuck lays back down and looks at the ceiling, “When I was asleep I didn’t even know. I imagined some happy place.”

The group looks at him, and Mark (who hadn’t moved from his side) looked at him with soft eyes, “Were you alone?”

Donghyuck shakes his head, “No, I wasn’t alone.”

Mark smiled, “That’s good… That's good…”

————

To say the least, after a very long conversation about everything that had gone down in the past week (or day according to some), they concluded that Iridescence Island would still be their main goal and Sicheng and Jungwoo were allowed to stay. They found out that Sicheng was twenty one, Jungwoo twenty. They both killed people and have done bad things, but misunderstandings led to them being some of the most wanted criminals in the Carpathia Kingdom. Jungwoo could communicate well with animals, not speak to them necessarily, but he was gentle and knew how to work with them. 

Amidst it all, Taeyong had stayed relatively quiet. Seemed as though he was still processing that he actually had some sort of supernatural power. He still wouldn’t raise his head or eyes to look at anyone though. Donghyuck and Taeyong weren’t on speaking terms still, either, and Taeyong didn’t even want to go near the younger boy. 

Johnny knew that Taeyong cared for Donghyuck dee down. He was his brother and was by Donghyuck he was ill, worry clear on his face. 

There were many things that were conflicting about this situation. 

One thing was that Taeyong didn’t trust anybody, he had some faith in Johnny but he didn’t  _ really  _ want anything to do with him. Johnny wasn’t hurt by it. He couldn’t blame the young boy because he must be hurting a lot from everything he’s gone through. Then there was another thing, Taeyong had some sort of sixth sense. It wasn’t super powerful, but it definitely was there. Johnny didn’t know how to handle that. If anything, Taeyong was always on edge and seemed to be very distant. Finally, Taeyong wouldn’t look into anyone’s eyes. No one except Donghyuck’s eyes that one day. 

“Johnny,” Taeyong says from his seat in the captain's quarters. He’s playing with his hands.

“Yes, Yong?” Johnny cursed himself for the nickname, but Taeyong paid no mind to it.

“It’s going to storm soon, we should be careful,” Taeyong says softly, “I don’t want anyone hurt.”

Johnny looks up, “Hm, the sea was a little rough lately. I think you’re right. I’ll tell my men, why don’t you go and eat dinner?”

Taeyong nods, then disappears out the doors and Johnny sighs. He really wishes the younger would trust him. 

It’s later at night when the rockiness of the ship awakens him. They decided to stay where they were and ride out the storm. Johnny walked out onto decks there wasn’t anyone out there, but they were still drifting. Rain was getting in Johnny’s face and eyes, and he looked to the sea. It was raging. 

“Who made you so upset?” Johnny asked to himself, the sea simply rocked the boat west, “Is there something going on in the west?”

Another rock. Johnny quirked an eyebrow. 

“I’ll see what I can do, keep us safe?” 

With that Johnny looked around, in the far distance it looked lighter than the rest so he turned the boat and did his best to maneuver it with the angry waves. When he successfully does, he sighs and runs a hand through his hair. 

Lightning flashes through the sky,  _ Jesus.  _

Johnny heads down to the East bilge where the crew most likely was. If they weren’t sleeping, they were probably playing cards and chatting amongst themselves. He heads towards the room where Taeyong was staying. 

“Taeyong?” Johnny asks, he cracks the door open, just to check on the younger boy. Taeyong is curled on the bed and whispering something to himself that Johnny can’t hear, “Yong? Hey, what’s wrong?” 

The small boy jerks from whatever trance he’s in and grabs Johnny’s wrist. He pulls him up onto the deck and almost collapses immediately. 

“Taeyong, hey, deep breaths!” Johnny yelled, his voice confused, “Yong? What’s wrong?”

He looks up and out into the sea, pointing a shaken finger to the distant ocean. The wind whirled and there was a large cloud that twisted in the air, the water twirling with it. 

“Holy  _ shit, _ ” Johnny said, “ _ Oh fuck  _ “

Taeyong grabbed Johnny’s face with his hands, and looked into Johnny’s eyes. 

_ “S-Storm,”  _ Taeyong said, he was holding Johnny’s arms so tightly. 

One of his eyes, was cloudy and the scar that was going through it was pink and fairly deep. Johnny never got a very good look at his eyes, he knew they were practically black, but his one eye lacked as much color in it than the other.  _ Later _ , read Taeyong’s expression,

“Go get everyone, let them know we have a large storm ahead. Make sure Donghyuck is strapped in safely and that Ten or Taeil stays with him,” Johnny said, “We’re going to ride out the storm.”

Lightning flashed around them, Johnny felt his heart race with every passing second. 

The sea had its way with how things happened. This wasn’t something Johnny expected, but there was no way out of it.

Maybe Taeyong and the sea had much more in common than Johnny knew of. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ty for reading 🥺 hope u enjoyed!!!

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! feedback is welcomed <3!!!


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